Aeroplane.



" M. MIHALYPI.

' AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED FEIB.2B, 1911.

1,004,805.- Patented oat-3,1911.

v I %,:I WITNESSES NVE 43 1 1/ a Y W BY A4 ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

MIHALY MIHALYFI, or new YORK, n. Y.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that: I, MIHALY MIHALYFI, a subject of the King-I of Hungary, and resident of the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to airships of the aeroplane type.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of this character, the aeroplane of which serves at the same time as means for guiding or steering the vessel in its ascent or descent.

Another object of the invention is to produce a propeller for thepropulsion of the vessel in combination with simple and efficient means, whereby said propeller is made to serve as thesteeringmeans for the vessel in the horizontal plane. V p

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as the nature of the invention is better'understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement andconstruction of parts-hereinafter fully described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the, size and proportion vof the several parts and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. r j 7 One of the many possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan new of the vessel with the'covering of its poiser frame removed so as to show more clearly the construction of the parts below it; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the improved machine; Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof;-Fig. 4: is a horizontal section through the joint or clutch between the propeller shaft and the engine shaft;

and Fig. 5 is a front elevation of one of the gears of said joint with its inclosing caslng in section.

The herein described embodiment of the aerial vessel comprises a main frame 6, made of a suitable rigid and light material, and provided with a plurality of rollers or wheels 7, 7, facilitating [the transportation of the apparatus and aiding the ascent ofthe same.

The upperportion of this'mainframe is made in the form of a cage, comprising the of the AEROPLANE.

vertical bars 8, 8 transverse bars 9, 9 and longitudinal bars 10, 10. The transverse bar 9 at the front top portion of the cage 1s rotatably mounted upon the cage for a purpose which will hereinafter appear; Be-

low the lower plane of this cage is mounted a suitable source of power, actuating the propelling means; said source of power coI'nprising in the present case an internal combustion engine 11, which has a plurality of cylinders, the number of which may-be va-- ried according'to therequirements. "Above the motor 11 is arranged the operators' seat 12, in front of which are located the steering wheels of the vessel, which willbe hereinafter described.

The cylinders of the motor are arranged horizontally, its crankshaft 13. extending in front and rearof the cage, and being journaled in the rear of the cage. in a bearing 1 14, which is attached to the cage by means of brackets 1'5, 15. fUpon the rear end of the crankshaft 13 is mounted a screw propeller 13. To the front portion of the crankshaft is attached a semi-spherical gear 16, which is meshes with a semi-spherical gear 19, which is rotatably mounted in the casing 17, and having its shaft 20 projecting through"a horizontal slot 21 inthe front portion of the casing 17. Upon the free end of this shaft is mounted a screw propeller 22, of there'- Specification'of Letters Patent. I I Patented 0013. 3, 1911. 2 Application filed February 28, 1911. Serial No. 611,394. v

- arranged in a casing 17 attached to the cage by means of brackets 18, 18.- This gear quired size and pitch, and acting in a man-- l ner and for a purpose to be described.

The gear--19 is shown in front elevation in v Fig. 5 of the drawings, and comprises ra dially arranged teeth 23, 23, which run dia-- metrically at right angles to each other, and

divide'thus the said gear into four quadrants. These quadrants. are subdivided by teeth 24, 24 extending from the peri hery of the gear almost to the center thereo ,and

running at angles of 45. to the teeth 23. The

quadrants are furthermore'subdivided by teeth 25, 25 and 26, 26, all running radially.

from the periphery of the gear toward the cen'terthereof. The outer, faces of the teeth and their bases are curved in concave lines. The gear 16 is also semi-spherical and also provided with radially arrangedteethj It ear form a semi-spherical. surface,-

of the gear 16,'and in the placesof'the de I pressions in the gear 19' there are formed upon the face of the gear 16 projections, or in other wordst'eeth. The contour and size ofthe depressions in the gear 16 correspond substantially to that of the teeth of the gear 19, and the form and arrangement of the teeth of the gear 16 are substantially that of the de ressions in the gear 19. A plurality of bal s 27 and 28 are arranged at the points of contact between the casin 17 and the gears 16 and 19, respectively, orming thereby roller bearings for said gears.

A ring 29 is. loosely mounted upon the shaft 20 of the gear 19. To this ring are attached the 'two ends of flexible means, such as a'rope 30,running over idlers 31,31 and 32, 32 and over a pulle 33. This pulley is mounted upon a sha t 34, rotatably arranged in a sleeve 35, which is journaled in a bearing 36, the latter being carried by brackets 37,37, which are attached to the front bars of the cage 6. A handwheel 34 is attached to the free end of the shaft 34, and is located within the reach of the operator. The poiser or glider frame of the machine comprises a frame 38 of light and rigid material, which is covered by a covering 39 of silk or other suitable material, forming thereby an aeroplane. This frame is properly strengthened b vertical rods 40, 40, which are connecte to the frame 38 by means of'stay wires 41, 41, to give the poiser frame the required rigidness. To this frame are pivotally attached supporting rods 42 and-42. The lower ends of the rods 42 are rigidly and the lower ends of the rods 42 are pivoted to the'rear portion of the cage 6. The transverse bar 9 carries at its central portion fixedly attached thereto a pulley 43,'in engagement with an endless rope or belt 44, which runs over a pulley 45, attached to the sleeve 35, which latter is provided with a steering wheel 46 'n front of the operators seat.

The operation of the device is as follows: In starting the glide of the machine, the

iser frame 38 is set by means of the steering wheel 46 at an angle to the horizontal ane, and more particularly its rear portion is lowered, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The motor is then put in o ration, which gives the desired speed to t e screw propellers 22 and 13. The operation of the ropellers causes the machine to lie-floated. Vhen the desired height or level is attained, the poiser frame is rought in the horizontal position. In order to steer the machine in a horizontal plane, the steering gear 34 is turned in one or the other direction, whereby the propeller shaft 20 will be set at an angle ,to the axis of the crankshaftto one or the other side of the same, as-shown in Fig. of. the drawings.

attached to the transverse bar 9',

' verse bar, a

Obviously the form of the coacting teeth of the gears 16 and 19 will permit a shifting in the horizontal plane of the shaft 20; the concavity of the depressions in the wheel 16 correspondin of course, to the convexity of the outer ace of the teeth of the gear 19. The gears 16 and 19 form, in fact, a jaw clutch, which permits the shaft 20 to be set in 'a horizontal plane at any desired angle relative to the crankshaft of the engine. If the rear edge of the poiser frame 38 is elevated above the horizontal plane, the aeroplane will have a tendency to descend. If the front edge is elevated above the horizontal plane, it will rise. The poiser frame forms thus a combined glider and steering frame.

In the drawings, a general arrangement of the aeroplane, constructed in accordance with the invention has been illustrated, but no particular proportions or sizes have been specified since the said proportions and sizes depend upon the particular requirements. Furthermore specific arrangements for varying the inclination of the frame 38 have been described, but it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous other devices may be emplo ed to attain the desired adjusting effectwit out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It should .be statedthat the essential features of the invention lie in the adjustability of the poiser frame, that is in the manner in which .the aeroplane is guided in the vertical plane,

and the means for varying in a horizontal plane the position of the propeller 22 relative to the crankshaft of the motor.

\Vhat I claim is: 1. In a flying machine, the combination with a cage-shaped frame, of a motor carried thereby, a plurality of screw propellers actuated by said motor, an aeroplane located above the top of said frame, a transverse bar rotatably mounted in the front top portion of said cage, a set of supporting rods pivotally attached to the front ortion of said aeroplane and rigidly secure to said transverse bar, a second set of supporting rods pivotally attached to said aeroplane and to the rear top portion of said cage, and means I for oscillating said transverse bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a flying machine, the combination with a cage-shaped frame, of a motor carried thereby, a plurality of screw propellers actuated by said motor, an aeroplane located above the top of said frame, a transverse bar rotatably mounted in the front top portion of said cage, a set of supporting rods pivotally attached to the front portion of said aeroplane and rigidly secured to said transsecond set of supporting rods pivotally attached to said aeroplane and to the rear top portion of said cage, a pulley attached tothe central portion of said transverse bar, a steering Wheel, and a connection betweensaid steering wheel and pulley, sub- 'stantially as and for the purpose specified.

3; In a flying machine, the ,combination with a cage shaped frame, of afmotor carried thereby the crankshaftpf which extends in front and rear of "said frame, a screw propeller mounted upon the rear end of said crankshaft, a stationary casing having a horizontal slot in its front portion, a propeller shaft the axis of which coincides normally with the axis of said crankshaft projecting through saidhorizontal slot into said casing, a second propeller mounted upon said propeller shaft in front of said casing, the front'endof said crankshaft also extending into said casing, and a jaw clutch in said casing connecting said propeller shaft with said crankshaft and permitting the position of said propeller shaft to be Varied in ahorizontal plane relative to said crankshaft.

MIII-IALY MIHALYFL \Vitnesses SIGMUND HERZOG, S. BIRNBAUM. 

